# Women Checking for Wedding Rings **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393 "2010-02-10T05:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/1 "2010-02-10T05:23:16Z")
I could perhaps make this a GQ but I don’t know there is an objective factual answer, so here we are. Yesterday I was sitting with a large number of colleagues including a number of young women (25-35) some married some not. We had been watching a dull training video on legal research, with a female presenter. I won’t go into the backstory too much but one way or another the question of whether the presenter was married arose, and several if not all the young women in the room said of course she was, she had been wearing a wedding ring. I said I wouldn’t have noticed this in a million years. The men agreed. Many if not all the young women looked at us like morons and said words to the effect that it was “the first thing you looked at, natch”. So two questions of women dopers. Firstly do you do this? Secondly, why? The reason you might check whether men you meet are wearing a wedding ring is obvious, particularly if you are yourself single. But why other women, so avidly? ---
**Author:** ![Kkrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Kkrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kkrose)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/2 "2010-02-10T05:29:48Z")
Because the rings are pretty and sparkly, natch. That and women like to size other women up, don’t know why. Part of that is seeing the size and awesomeness of their wedding/engagement ring. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/3 "2010-02-10T05:52:53Z")
I check for a wedding ring on everyone I meet, men and women. It’s an easy way to tell something fairly important about them right away, without having to ask or guess (if they wear one - if they don’t, I’m no further behind). Plus, pretty and sparkly. 🙂 ETA: Did you know that women look at men’s shoes, too? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/4 "2010-02-10T06:07:22Z")
I’m female, but I suspect other women would rather disown me. 😛 I actually do not notice wedding rings. The reason I miss them on women, I think, is because women already wear jewelry all the time; a ring on that finger isn’t necessarily a wedding ring. And I rarely notice men’s rings, unless I just happen to notice it for some other reason. But…I’m goofy that way. Someone would have to cut off 6 inches of hair and dye the rest purple for me to notice, I think. I’m very Mr. Magoo’ish that way. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/5 "2010-02-10T06:34:52Z")
No, I don’t check. That doesn’t occur to me most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/6 "2010-02-10T06:38:29Z")
I check - but not for any particular purpose - most people talk with their hands and it catches my eye - but I also tend to scan what people are wearing in general as I’m interested in fashion. And sometimes the sparklies are very sparkly! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/7 "2010-02-10T07:42:57Z")
Checking men for rings is only important if you’re single and he’s appealing. As for other women, the only reason I can imagine looking to see if she’s wearing a wedding ring is to size up the potential competion for said appealing men. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/8 "2010-02-10T08:50:56Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The reason you might check whether men you meet are wearing a wedding ring is obvious, particularly if you are yourself single. But why other women, so avidly? In a few cases it’s for the same obvious reason. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/9 "2010-02-10T08:59:01Z")
Sure, but more than half the women involved were married. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/10 "2010-02-10T10:53:55Z")
Only if I’m in a ring-noticing phase, or if it is a particularly boring meeting. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/11 "2010-02-10T11:32:46Z")
I like rings, so I tend to notice when people wear them. It’s not the first thing I look for though. ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/12 "2010-02-10T14:07:28Z")
It provides some context, I think. I’m really interested in people’s stories. Knowing whether they’re married sometimes makes sense of a position they take in conversation. Occasionally there are people that make you think “huh, they can’t be easy to live with”. I don’t look at the size of the gem as a rule - it only tells me how much the couple could afford if appearances are important to them. My own ring isn’t much to look at, because we chose ‘understated’. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/13 "2010-02-10T14:41:38Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Checking men for rings is only important if you’re single and he’s appealing. Ditto. I never, ever check women for rings and would hardly notice. Besides, the rings women wear, how could you be sure if they were wedding rings? And in this day and age not everyone gets married or even wears a ring to signify their commitment, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/14 "2010-02-10T17:03:01Z")
I don’t notice. In fact, the BBQ pit thread watch cracked me up (there was an argument over expensive watches) because people were spending thousands ofl dollars on watches, presumably to impress people, and I don’t notice watches either. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/15 "2010-02-10T17:48:38Z")
Don’t notice for men or women. And don’t think it necessarily means much. I’m married and don’t always wear my ring - and when I was single, I’d wear a “wedding ring” if I was doing something like a bachelorette party (some people DO check and it cuts down on the hassle). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/16 "2010-02-10T17:59:50Z")
I’ll usually notice the existence (or lack of) a wedding/engagement ring after talking to someone for a while, or if I happen to glance at their hands for some reason, but it’s not the first thing I look for. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/17 "2010-02-10T18:40:30Z")
I don’t usually make a point of checking on either men or women, and if I do, it’s just out of idle curiosity. Mr. S recently started wearing his wedding ring on his RIGHT hand because it became uncomfortable on his left (for boring reasons I won’t go into). Works for me, but any woman who’s checking him out that way might miss it. It’s a plain gold band and pretty obviously a wedding ring, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/18 "2010-02-10T18:46:07Z")
Okay, it looks like I’m the odd woman out - won’t be the first time. 🙂 I am an extremely observant person, though, when it comes to looking at other people. I notice _everything_ about everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/19 "2010-02-10T19:04:19Z")
By the way, it’s not only women who check for men’s wedding rings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393/20 "2010-02-10T20:18:15Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > ETA: Did you know that women look at men’s shoes, too? Well, yeah. That’s basic. Shoes fingernails hair. I just assume I’m being judged on those things. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-checking-for-wedding-rings/528393.md?page=2)